German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Saturday rejected Berlin’s participation in the escalating military conflict in Iran, describing the U.S.-Israeli campaign as “not our war” and flagging legal concerns over the strikes.
In an interview with RND, Klingbeil said that while the Iranian government is a “terror regime,” he has “considerable doubts” that air strikes will lead to a permanent solution or comply with international law.
“I say very clearly: This is not our war. We will not participate in this war,” said Klingbeil, who is with the Social Democrats. He warned against a global order where “only the law of the strongest applies,” calling for a return to a rules-based system.
Klingbeil’s comments come as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stepped back from his initial support for the U.S.-Israeli campaign. Meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week, Merz defended the strikes as a necessary response to decades of failed diplomacy regarding Iran’s nuclear program and regional destabilization.
But in recent days, the chancellor has said that neither “endless war” nor a collapse of the Iranian state is in Germany’s interest.